


Holding Hands As The Walls Come Tumbling Down

by CrossedMoon



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Achievement Hunter Kings, Mad King Ryan Haywood, Minor Character Death, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-13
Updated: 2018-10-13
Packaged: 2019-08-01 15:38:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16287278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossedMoon/pseuds/CrossedMoon
Summary: Michael is a prince who has too many problems. His father just died, his coronation is coming up, there’s a new threat with a kingdom across the ocean, and a certain thief is becoming a real nuisance. all in all, he doesn’t feel cut out to be the king.





	Holding Hands As The Walls Come Tumbling Down

Michael was wandering the castle again when he heard the shouting. It was around the corner from where he was. He stopped to hear what was going on.  
“You incompetent loon!” It was the head guard shouting. “My wife sent this to me!”  
“I’m sorry sir,” a meek accented voice that Michael didn’t recognize responded. “It was an accident.”  
“People like you can’t afford to make me angry. I should have you lashed!”  
Michael figured it was time to intervene. He straightened his posture, trying to look as regal and commanding as possible before he turned the corner. The head guard was still ranting at the boy, face red as a tomato. The boy was backed up into a corner, looking everywhere but the guard.  
“And what exactly is going on here?” Michael’s voice echoed around the empty hall. The head guard changed his demeanor almost immediately.  
“Your highness, this lowly messenger boy was a klutz and dropped my birthday present from my wife. It’s completely shattered.” He gestured to a pile of glass on the floor.   
“And what was the present?”  
“A decoration for my room.”  
“Alright. We’ll send compensation to your wife for the present. She can decide whether to send another one or keep the money.”  
“What about the boy? How will we punish him?”  
“He can clean up the mess.”  
“But-” The head guard started to argue.  
“Do you question my authority, guard?”  
“No, your highness.”  
“You are dismissed.” The head guard stalked off, and Michael turned his attention to the boy. He was sitting on the floor, eyes cast down. Michael immediately noticed his almost impossibly messy golden hair. It was cute. “Hey, are you okay? He can be intimidating when he’s angry.”  
The boy refused to look at him. “I’m fine. I know where the cleaning supplies are. I’ll go get them.” He scurried off before Michael could say another word.  
Michael stood there for a second, confused. Then, he shrugged and walked to his room, to get ready for the ball.  
\---------------------------------------------------   
A dress skirt almost hit Michael in the face as soon as he entered the ballroom. He scooted over to the side of the doorway, scouting out a better spot. He settled on a place halfway between the doors and the thrones. He made his way there, grabbing a glass from one of the servers on his way.  
He leaned against the wall and looked around for Spark. She was making her rounds around the tables, chatting with different people, as Ryan followed behind her. Michael accidentally made eye contact with him, and Ryan made a silly face before Michael could avert his gaze. He couldn’t stop himself from giggling, and nearly pinched himself for it. He wasn’t supposed to like the person who would be stealing his older sister away.  
All he wanted to do was go up to his room and study, go over what he needed to do for the coronation. But his mother said since it was Spark’s wedding ball, he had to stay for a while. So he stood there, and studied the dresses. The dresses were the most interesting part of any ball. It was the time when the women could subtlety one-up their enemies, and they tried their best. He watched as silver and blue and red flashed by him.  
He flinched when someone came up to him, but it was just the messenger boy from earlier. Michael studied him. His outfit was all white, and he seemed to be trying to shrink into the wall. His hair was certainly more tamed than when Michael saw him earlier.   
They both stood there silently, watching the people. Finally, Michael spoke up. “I don’t think I ever caught your name.”  
Out of the corner of his eye, Michael saw the boy jump. “Oh! I’m Gavin! Gavin David Free!” He squeaked out.  
“Hm. So, what do you think of the ball?” Michael asked.  
“Oh it’s fascinating! This is the first time I’ve ever been to something like this. There are so many pretty people here and they’re all dressed so fancy.”  
“Yeah, balls tend to be where people flaunt their money the most. So,” he squinted at him, “how did you get in here?”  
Gavin turned red. “What are you talking about?”  
“Palace workers aren’t typically invited to balls.”  
“I, uh, I snuck in. Please don’t tell my dad! I just wanted to see what a ball was like.”  
Michael laughed. “Relax, I’m not going to tell anyone. You really want to know what a ball is like? It’s an event of drama and gossip hidden under small talk and dancing. For example, see those two women over there?” He subtly pointed out two women, one in a soft sapphire dress, the other in a flowy silver dress, who were talking to each other across the room from them. “they look like they’re enjoying themselves, right?” Gavin nodded.  
“Well, that one,” he pointed out the one in blue. “She thinks the other one is too gaudy and conceited just because she married a man who was richer than blue’s husband. Meanwhile silver hates blue because blue married the man she was in love with and she knows her husband is cheating on her with purple over there.” He then gestured to a women in purple a few feet away from the other two.  
“Wow.” Gavin looked fascinated.  
“Yeah, the entire room is filled with people like that. That’s one of the only good things about events like this, is learning about this.”  
The band changed from the high tempo music it was playing to a slower song. The dance floor changed as people got together to dance. Michael watched, looking for the most interesting couple to point out to Gavin. He spotted one.  
“The woman in the pink over there with the sailor?” Gavin nodded again. “She’s a flighty girl. She’s already broken off four engagements and rejected ten other proposals. Most men call her a flirt and a tease. But as my sister pointed out at the last ball, she spends an awful lot of time around her friend.” He pointed at another woman in a blue dress, who was staring intensely at the pink girl.  
Someone cleared their throat behind Michael, announcing their presence. He turned around and gasped as he saw the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen behind him. She was wearing a blue and green dress with feather details on her chest, and a satin skirt. She had on a wide brimmed green hat with blue flowers, the brim pulled down so he could barely see her eyes. He could see a hint of red hair peeking out from under the hat.  
“May I have this dance?” She asked, and offered a hand out. He was too starstruck to speak, only nodded and took her hand. They went out to almost the middle of the dance floor and began the traditional steps for a slower song.  
“Where did you learn to dance?” He asked.  
“A friend of mine, why?” The woman said.  
“You’re leading.”  
“My friend wanted to practice dancing for a suitor. I was her step-in suitor.”  
“Did the dance work out?”  
The woman laughed. “Oh no. She owns a silversmith shop, and he wanted her to sell it and live and work in his house full time.”  
“Ooh, yeah, that’s one way to break off a courting real fast.”  
“You seem to be quite comfortable following, yourself.”  
“Yeah, my sister was always taller than me, and was definitely more assertive when we were younger. I didn’t start leading when we danced till she met Ryan.”  
“Aw yes, Regal King Ryan. The main event of this ball. Why do you think he caught your sister’s eye?” The woman asked.  
“I mean, isn’t it obvious, he’s a king. Our bloodline is a patriarchal line, which means the only chance she had of ruling was through marriage. She dreamed of being a queen since I could remember.  
“I still remember the day she realized she wouldn’t automatically become queen. It was my tenth birthday. Our mother was talking about me starting training for when I would become king, and Spark asked when her training would begin. I could see the exact moment all hope left her eyes. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so heartrending. Where are you from?”  
“Why do you ask?”  
“You’re the only red-haired one in the room. It isn’t a hair color found in people from this kingdom.”  
“You got me there. I was born across the sea, but my parents brought me here when I was a small child.”  
“Across the sea? You mean Esmad?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Why did your parents move over here?”  
“Personal reasons.”  
At that, the song changed again and the couples said their goodbyes before exiting the dance floor. The woman smiled at Michael. “This is where we part.” She said, then bowed at him.  
“It doesn’t have to be. We can dance another song.” He sputtered out, angry at how desperate he sounded.   
“No I really must leave. May the winds of fate let us find each other again.” She turned at that and made her way toward the exit.Michael could do nothing but stand there and watch her. When she left the room, he turned toward where he had left Gavin, only to find him gone.  
He sighed and made his own way out of the ballroom. He had spent time at the ball, danced, and socialized with people, he hoped his mother was happy. He walked down to the garden, and settled down on his favorite bench. It was near the rosebushes and the fountain. He had spent many nights watching the water flow and thinking.  
Feminine giggling came from behind the fountain and pink dress and blue dress emerged. Pink dress noticed him sitting there, gasped, and dropped the hand that was holding blue dress’s, while blue dress glared at him. Michael nodded at them and averted his gaze, what he hoped was a valid sign that their secret was safe with him.  
\---------------------------------------------------   
Michael walked along the cavernous hallway, looking for his mother. He wandered until he heard frantic voices from behind the door to the meeting room. He pressed his ear to the door, trying to catch what they were panicked about.  
“Queen Sarah, please. This pesky thief is becoming quite the nuisance.” Michael pinpointed the voice as the head of the royal guard.   
“Did they steal a couple pieces of silverware again?” Michael’s mother quipped back. “They may be annoying but they’re good at this whole stealing and escaping thing, and we have much, much, bigger problems than a few gems going missing.”  
“Oh! But I have something that may narrow down the search, by a lot in fact.” The Head Guard said. “My men found this around where the jewelry was stolen. If I remember correctly, your own son might have intel on the only woman with red hair at the ball last night.”  
Michael felt his heart sink to his feet. Typical of the universe to have him become infatuated with the thief who had be plaguing the castle for months. In his defense, how was he supposed to guess that she was the thief. She was funny and cute, and she seemed nice enough.  
The door opened and Michael nearly launched himself across the room in an attempt to look totally not suspicious. His mother entered and Michael braced himself for a lecture on eavesdropping. Instead, She only smirked. “Did you get her name?” She asked.  
“No I di-I didn’t. She was cryptic about herself.”  
His mother nodded and left without another word.  
The head guard, however, was a different story. He barreled out of the room, caught sight of Michael, and pulled him off the ground by his shirt collar, while yelling, “The girl you danced with, do you know her name? What does she look like? Did anything about her seem suspicious? do you know where she lives?”  
Michael shook his head, and the head guard huffed and stalked off. Michael rubbed his neck and walked to the throne room for more coronation rehearsal. He tried to concentrate, he really did, but his mind continued to dwell on the thief.   
Really, he should’ve suspected something was up. He understood not telling your dance partner your entire life story, but he normally would’ve questioned the logic of not even giving your dance partner your name. Plus the added weirdness of her parting quote.  
"Now Michael,” his mother said, breaking him from his thoughts. “What is the most important part of the ceremony?”  
“The bleeding.” Michael replied absentmindedly. “If I don’t bleed on the crown, the entire ceremony is null and void.”  
“Queen Sarah!” The head guard burst into the throne room. “Queen Sarah we have a bit of a situation. I need you to come with me.”  
Michael’s mother stood up and quickly rushed out of the room. Michael sat back, thoughts racing. Were they being invaded? Did someone die? Did they find the thief?  
His mother reentered the room, her face drawn, holding a letter. She handed the letter to him.   
"Queen Sarah,  
I regret to inform you that on the night of our arrival in Esmad, Spark grew deathly ill. I fear she will not make it to see another sunrise.  
Regretfully,  
King Ryan"  
Michael looked up, panicked. “We have to go to her, now! We can postpone the coronation” he shouted.  
His mother looked down and shook her head. “You mustn’t let this distract from your duties. People have come from all over the kingdom for this event. We can’t disappoint them.”  
“Disappointment my ass-”  
“Michael!”  
“We have to see her.”  
“I hate that you must experience this grief, so close to the death of your father, but we must have this coronation tomorrow.”  
“But-”  
“We are done discussing it. My decision is final. Now, you are released from your duties for tonight, get ready for tomorrow.”   
Michael walked out and made a beeline for the fountain. He collapsed onto his bench and broke down in tears.  
\---------------------------------------------------   
Michael adjusted the cuffs of his shirt and stared into the mirror. People were arriving to the castle and his heart was pounding out of his chest. He took a deep breath, but all it did was make his vision shake.  
Tears fell from his eyes again. After the original letter from Ryan, they never got another update and Michael was terrified for his sister. Spark was one of the healthiest people he knew and had gotten sick exactly twice in his memory. He never even considered her getting sick as a possibility.  
Someone knocked on the door. He told whoever it was to come in. The door opened and Gavin entered the room. “Yes Gavin, what is it?” Michael asked. He tried to hide his face so Gavin wouldn’t see he had been crying.  
“I was told to inform you that everyone is almost ready.” He said.  
“Of course, I’ll be down there soon.”  
Gavin lingered, and there was an air of unspoken words in the room. Michael got sick of the uncertainty.   
“Gavin?” He said, “is there anything else you want to tell me?”  
“Oh uh,” More silence, “I’m sorry about your sister.”  
“Thank you.”  
“Um, do you think she has the same illness that your dad had?”  
“I don’t know!” Michael shouted, startling himself.  
“Sorry I didn’t mean to offend you your highness I’ll leave you alone.” Gavin stumbled toward the door.  
“No! No Gavin I’m sorry I didn’t mean to shout at you. Please don’t leave. I don’t want to be alone.”  
“Right ok. Yeah, I’ll stay if you want me to stay.”  
Michael sat down at the end of his bed and invited Gavin next to him. They sat like that for a while in silence.  
“I can’t do this.” Michael said.  
“What are you talking about?”  
“I just can’t. In the past fortnight my entire world has been ripped out from under me and everyone expects to go on with my life and not only that, but to lead an entire country. My life still doesn’t feel real. I can’t fucking speed through the stages of grief at the rate every member of the council wants me to.”  
“Michael-” Gavin trailed off, his voice uncertain.  
Michael froze. He wasn’t used to being called by his first name by anyone, much less one of the palace workers. It was unexpected but not entirely unwanted.   
“Right, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have-” Gavin said.  
“No Gavin, it’s,” Michael paused, “It’s nice.”  
“Is it?” Gavin asked.  
“Yeah, it’s nice to feel like I have someone on my side, you know? Feels like a friend.”  
“Is that what we are? Friends?”  
“Yeah, we are. Friends.” Michael felt a jolt of something he couldn’t pinpoint, but the thought of being friends of with Gavin made him nearly giddy.  
Another knock on the door. One of the palace guard spoke up from behind it. “Your highness, the coronation is ready to start.”   
Michael jumped up from his bed. “Right, of course, I’ll be down immediately.” He went back to the mirror and fixed his hair. He knew at this point he was dawdling, but he needed a minute before he could go downstairs.  
Gavin came up next to him. “Well, I’d better go down there to get my seat. I’ll see you around.   
\---------------------------------------------------   
Michael made his way down the stairway, looking down at the crowd below him, focusing on his posture and expression to distract himself from the nerves.   
“Breathe” he muttered to himself. Finally, he made it down. Guards got on either side of him and pushed through the crowd. As Michael gazed around at all the faces, he felt his brain detach from his body and he felt like he was watching himself through a tv screen. He no longer felt nervous.  
Shuffling and a frantic voice made his head turn. “Excuse me, please, I need to talk to him, it’s urgent!” An all too familiar voice called from the crowd. The woman, no, the thief from the ball appeared in front of the crowd. Her hair was down now, and incredibly frizzy. She was wearing brown slacks and a white blouse, and she had a frantic look in her eyes. “Michael please, I need to talk to you,” she thrust out the papers she was holding. “I was looking into some stuff and I found-”  
“No.” Michael interrupted.   
The woman took a step back. “what?”   
“I said no.”   
“But really, this is incredibly important. Ryan-”  
“And I have a coronation to attend to. You can request time to discuss this with me after I become king. Besides, I wouldn’t listen to a lowly thief, no matter how important the information.” He spit out the last words with as much venom as he could muster. He was angry with her, for tricking him, pulling the wool over his eyes and distracting him. Stealing from his family. Yet, when she hung her head low in defeat and shuffled away, he still felt a pang of regret.  
The music started and everything except what was happening escaped his mind. On cue, he entered the throne room. The room has been extravagantly decorated for the event. Blood red and golden, the colors of Chalon. Banners, candleabras, flowers. There were many rows of seat had been set up, facing the thrones, and every seat was filled. The swords of past kings were hung on one wall. Michael scanned the blades as he walked down the aisle.   
He thought about his own sword, custom made when he was fourteen.  
Michael arrived to the front of the room and the coronation truly began. The choir started up again, singing the first song. It was a mournful song. One about lives lost and the burden of responsibility. It was a truly beautiful song and the soloist brought Michael to tears.  
Then, he received the robe. One that was sewn during the first king’s reign. It was white with red thread. The white symbolized a new beginning, an end to the constant battles between kingdoms and the peace treaty. The red mourned the dead. The blood spilled on the battlefield, the people who fought for their new beginning but never lived to see the day it happened.  
Then, Michael’s mother spoke. She gave a heartrending speech about Michael’s father and how she fully believes in Michael to uphold the same values and beliefs that the old king had. At this, Michael became fidgety. The robe was overheating him and the incense was making his head hurt. Plus, he was getting sick of hearing his Father’s name.  
His father was considered a great king. But more and more, Michael felt a pressure building to act exactly like the old king.  
Another song. This one happier, a journey of building a strong kingdom, while two of the noble’s children carried up the crown and the sword, giving them to Michael. He turned to face the Head Guard and handed both items to him.  
One of the Crown Guards walked up with a scroll and stood next to the Head Guard. He unrolled the scroll and Michael read aloud from it, the creed of the crown.  
“I, Prince Michael Vincent Jones, son of Queen Sarah Christine Williams and the late King Harry Cliff Jones,” Michael began, “Vow to prioritize peace and the safety of my subjects above all. I promise to only use military power as a last resort.” Michael continued to drone on, repeating sentence after sentence of promises to uphold. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. The creed was fine, but idealistic. The one thing he has definitely picked up on from the excessive history lessons he was forced to attend was that no king had ever completely followed the creed.  
“I will never use my powers for evil. I will listen to the concerns of my subjects and do my best to please them. If there is a threat to our kingdom and we are forced into battle, I will fight alongside my fellow soldiers.” another bit of bullshit there. Even if he wanted to fight, none of the guards would let him. If, gods forbid, there was a war during his rule, he would have to sit in the throne room and strategize from there. He wasn’t complaining, but he hated that he was blatantly lying. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to worry about it, Chalon hadn’t been a war in 300 years.  
Finally, he finished. The guard walked away with the scroll. The head guard handed Michael the sword back and thrust out the crown in front of him. It was time for the bleeding, then this whole ordeal would be over and he would be king. He raised the sword with his right hand, and put his left forearm over the crown. He saw spots in the corners of his vision and closed them. Then, he brought the sword down, slowly, preparing to cut his arm.  
The sound of a clink caused him to open his eyes, just in time to see an arrow fall to the ground after connecting with the sword.  
\---------------------------------------------------   
The entire world seemed to slow down. Michael watched the arrow fall. The silence in the room, which was unnoticeable before, was suddenly oppressive. Michael’s mind raced, going over every reason that this could possibly be happening. It felt like something punched his stomach and he wanted to double over from the feeling.  
The stunned silence in the room continued after the arrow hits the ground. Then, someone screamed and the spell was broken. People jumped out of their seats and rushed to leave, only to be stopped by masked archers blocking the exits. Michael stood defeated, not knowing what to do.  
One citizen leaped at an archer and Michael watched in horror as she was shot down. She turned to look at him as she fell. Blood seeped from her chest and formed a puddle around her. She was a noble. She had three young children. And just like that, she had died.  
Michael jumped into action. He grabbed two young women from the front row. “The children. Get them. Find a way to escape.”  
He walked down the aisle, observing the chaos, trying to find a way to help. No one else tried to fight. They just stood there, waiting. He watched as the women placed themselves in front of their children and the men placed themselves in front of the women.  
The anticipation pressed into Michael. None of the intruders had spoken yet. Then, one of the guards screamed out, and charged an archer. He made it three steps before he got caught by four arrows and fell at Michael’s feet. He stared into the guard’s face. He was the husband of the woman who was killed. Michael stifled a gasp. First day as king and there were already two deaths and three orphans on his hands.  
Something flipped the switch. More screams and the crowd surged forward. Michael felt powerless as people were shot down. Guard or citizen, man or woman, they all were met with arrows.  
“Stop!” Michael shouted, trying to speak over the chaos. “In the name of your king, I demand you stop!”  
He was heard and everyone stopped in their tracks, another hush fell over the crowd. Then, a familiar laugh echoed around the room, and a chill ran down his spine. Michael turned in time to see Ryan strutting into the room. He made his way down the aisle, slow clapping.  
“Very regal there Mikey. ‘in the name of your king.” another laugh. Michael’s blood started to boil. Of fucking course. He knew it. He knew Ryan’s behavior was fishy.   
“You’re one to talk, coming at me menacingly like that, slow clapping. You’re a picture perfect fairy tale villain.”  
Ryan shrugged. “If the shoe fits.”  
“You’re an asshole.” Michael hissed out.  
“Oh child, I’m much, much more than that. I’m so far past caring, adolescent insults don’t have any effect on me.”  
“Who do you even think you are?”  
“Easy, better than you. And I don’t think. I know.”   
Michael became acutely aware of where he was. A room full of his subjects stared at the two of them. Michael grabbed at his waist, searching. His hand only grasped air. He   
looked around and found his sword lying at the front of the room. He must have dropped it during the initial panic. He realized his mistake too late.   
“Awww, did you lose your trusty little sword? It’s too bad it wouldn’t work. You forget I have 30 guards ready to kill at a moment’s notice. You wouldn’t get two steps without being shot down.”  
“If that’s the case, why don’t you kill me right now? It’s obvious you just want the crown.”  
“What did you call me? A fairy-tale villain? Obviously I’m here to monologue.” Gods, Michael hated the guy. The arrogance radiating out from Ryan made Michael nearly nauseous.   
“Well, where’s the soliloquy then?” Michael snapped.   
“My father hated me the minute I was born. He was power-hungry,” Michael nearly rolled his eyes out of head. What a hypocrite. “He was sure he could find the secret to immortality, and he wouldn’t have any need for an heir. My mother is the only reason I’m still alive. So, I received no formal training. But, the minute I learned to read I began pouring over books and maps, learning everything I could about leading a country.  
“I actually attended your father’s coronation. He was two years my senior and we were acquaintances during our teenage years. However, I very soon realized that he was an idiot.” Michael’s head begin hurting. He hated Ryan so much, the anger was bouncing around in his skull. “Then, my father died and I became king. I focused on building my kingdom up. Making it the strongest it has ever been. But, in the back of my mind, I kept my sights set on the next improvement, expanding my kingdom. Then, the king died and you, no offense, planned on taking the helm. I couldn’t let that happen. So I’m here now to take the crown and if you just cooperate, there’s a chance you might get out of this alive. So, what do you say?” Ryan held out his hand, as if to feign a peace offering.  
Michael crossed his arms. “Fuck you.”  
Ryan’s amiable expression dropped. “Fine. I guess we’ll have to do this the hard way.” Before Michael could do anything, he felt a blow from behind, knocking him to the ground. He landed on his knees and mentally cursed. Subtle, but it was manipulation. If Michael had gone down fighting, Ryan would’ve had a harder time getting everyone in the kingdom to follow his rule. But this visual, the disgraced prince, kneeling to the new king, Michael knew he was being humiliated in his final moments.  
He heard a sword unsheathing. The right thing to do would be to at least look his executioner in the eye. But he couldn’t. So he closed his eyes and waited for death. He waited, hoping that Ryan would at least make it quick.   
“Goodbye little prince.” It was time. He braced for impact. Instead, he heard metal hit metal. He looked up, shocked. His eyes gazed upward at his savior. Simple clothing, golden hair. He almost laughed. Gavin, the unassuming messenger boy, had saved his life.  
Gavin took a breath. “Attack!” He yelled, and Michael watched in astonishment as nearly every person in the room surged towards the guards. The king’s swords were taken from the walls by some, but most attacked with just their hands. The first few people were shot down, but soon Ryan’s guards were overtaken by the sheer amount of people running at them.  
Gavin grunted and Michael snapped his attention back to the two of them. Gavin was struggling. “Dude, give me the sword! Let me fight him.” Michael shouted.  
“Nah, I think it’s my turn to save you.” Gavin retorted.   
Michael only watched as the two fought. Gavin had a surprising amount of endurance. But, it was soon evident that Ryan was much more experienced. Too soon, the two were locked in a standstill. Michael’s sword clattered to the ground when Gavin was disarmed. Michael feared for Gavin’s life, but Ryan did nothing but throw him aside and advance on Michael.  
Gavin stood up, but Ryan didn’t notice. He too busy staring at Michael with a burning fire behind his eyes. Gavin ran up to Ryan and shoved him with a surprising amount of strength.  
“You idiot. Why didn’t you run?” He shouted at Michael, while picking up the sword. Michael got up and the two ran toward the front of the room. “What are we going to do? There’s no exit down here!”  
Michael said nothing, only pulled Gavin behind the throne. He flipped the carpet over and tugged at a trapdoor under the throne. “Emergency exit.” The two got down and started running in the dark tunnel under the room.


End file.
